Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 characters property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan,
Kitty, and Viz Video. I lay no claim to the characters and situations which
I am using, nor do I lay any claim to sanity.

Two figures walked along a dusty path in the backcountry of China.
This was not in of itself unusual, as the dusty path had been formed by centuries
of similar figures walking along it. The path was not terribly unusual either,
its main importance lying only in its destination — Jusenkyou, the Valley
of Sorrows.

Around a bend ahead of the travelers, something happened which definitely
was unusual. The air in a certain spot seemed to shimmer for a bit and the
landscape past that spot was subtly different once the shimmer had faded.
By the time the figures rounded the bend, however, only an experienced eye
could have told that something had happened. The man and the boy walked past
the spot. Shortly after, the shimmer reappeared. When it had again died down,
the two travelers were no longer visible.

There is another dusty path in the same area. This path leads from — or
to, depending on your orientation — Jusenkyou, heading directly (in this
case) towards Joketsuzoku. Along this path, a shimmer appeared. Shortly after
the shimmer faded, two travelers walked around a bend. After they passed the
place where the shimmer had occurred, the shimmer came back, restoring the
world to the way it was before.

Ranma trudged along the road, berating her father for his stupidity. Getting
him turned into a girl was bad enough, but turned into a specific girl? Ranma
hoped that she'd never meet the "donor" of her current body and
continued to rail at her father. Genma could only hold up signs, which Ranma
showed no intent of reading, so he had no way to insult Ranma for his inability
to suffer 'for the Art'. "And why'd that lousy
guide refuse to take us all the way? He knows this area, we don't. It's his
job, inn't it?" As the day wore on, Ranma and
her sometime father made their way towards the first of many tight spots caused
(however indirectly) by the Valley of Sorrows.

The Tendo family sat in the living room. Akane focused on working up a good
rage. How DARE her father engage her to some boy that even HE had never met?
She heard a voice yelling at the door. It sounded strangely familiar, but
she couldn't place it. Nabiki jumped up, saying, "That must be Ranma!"
She and Daddy went to the door, only to stagger back in surprise as a panda
walked into the room. The panda removed the form that was hanging over its
shoulder. Everyone stared at the VERY familiar-looking red-and-black clad
person.

"You wouldn't be…" Daddy trailed off, apparently already shocked
halfway out of his mind. The girl brushed the back of her short hair in a
nervous motion and replied, "I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."

Akane could only stand still as her jaw dropped at the sight of… well…
herself. Apart from the haircut, this person who claimed to be Ranma was identical
to her.

Authorís notes: This is a spamfic, but I could probably keep writing in this
continuity if people were interested.